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South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday expressed her opposition to a plan pushed by the International Olympic Committee to share the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics with other countries.
“(South Korea) got to host the Games with difficulty on our third bid and the construction of each stadium is already in progress. It is meaningless to discuss plans for splitting the Games with (other countries),” said Park during a meeting with senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae. The president also urged officials at relevant ministries to deal with the IOC’s move with “persuasive logic.”
The remark came after the IOC passed a package of reform measures last week which included plans to stage the Olympics in different countries. Amid growing concern that South Korea is struggling with construction costs, the IOC asked organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics to use alternative sliding venues already in use in Asia, North America or Europe. South Korean organizers have already ruled out the proposal.
“As we don’t have much time left for the preparation of the games, we must put contentious issues in order and push ahead with work left undone rapidly and steadily,” the president said.
Park, however, remained silent on a power-meddling scandal involving her former aide Chung Yoon-hoi. The scandal was sparked by the local daily Segye Ilbo late last month when it ran a story on a leaked internal presidential document. The document alleged that Chung was part of a secret circle that consisted of incumbent Cheong Wa Dae secretaries and that he instructed them to spread rumors about Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon to create a mood for his replacement. The prosecution has launched a probe into the allegation involving Chung and aims to discover how the document was leaked to the media.
The presidential meeting with senior secretaries on Monday drew attention as it was thought that Park would comment on the intensifying controversy as her brother Park Ji-man was to appear before the prosecution on the same day as a reference witness to the scandal. The president’s brother is rumored to have been engaged in a power struggle with Chung and of having close relations with former presidential staff whom Cheong Wa Dae accuses of instructing lower-level officials to draw up the report on Chung.
Instead, President Park expressed concerns over remarks by a Korean-American accused of defending the communist regime in North Korea, stressing that such views are “greatly biased and distorted.”
Shin Eun-mi is suspected of sympathizing the Pyongyang regime and defending the North’s human rights conditions, in violation of Seoul’s National Security Act. She is said to have told audiences attending her “talk concerts” that North Koreans considered themselves fortunate to be ruled by Kim Jong-un.
By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)
“(South Korea) got to host the Games with difficulty on our third bid and the construction of each stadium is already in progress. It is meaningless to discuss plans for splitting the Games with (other countries),” said Park during a meeting with senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae. The president also urged officials at relevant ministries to deal with the IOC’s move with “persuasive logic.”
The remark came after the IOC passed a package of reform measures last week which included plans to stage the Olympics in different countries. Amid growing concern that South Korea is struggling with construction costs, the IOC asked organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics to use alternative sliding venues already in use in Asia, North America or Europe. South Korean organizers have already ruled out the proposal.
“As we don’t have much time left for the preparation of the games, we must put contentious issues in order and push ahead with work left undone rapidly and steadily,” the president said.
Park, however, remained silent on a power-meddling scandal involving her former aide Chung Yoon-hoi. The scandal was sparked by the local daily Segye Ilbo late last month when it ran a story on a leaked internal presidential document. The document alleged that Chung was part of a secret circle that consisted of incumbent Cheong Wa Dae secretaries and that he instructed them to spread rumors about Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon to create a mood for his replacement. The prosecution has launched a probe into the allegation involving Chung and aims to discover how the document was leaked to the media.
The presidential meeting with senior secretaries on Monday drew attention as it was thought that Park would comment on the intensifying controversy as her brother Park Ji-man was to appear before the prosecution on the same day as a reference witness to the scandal. The president’s brother is rumored to have been engaged in a power struggle with Chung and of having close relations with former presidential staff whom Cheong Wa Dae accuses of instructing lower-level officials to draw up the report on Chung.
Instead, President Park expressed concerns over remarks by a Korean-American accused of defending the communist regime in North Korea, stressing that such views are “greatly biased and distorted.”
Shin Eun-mi is suspected of sympathizing the Pyongyang regime and defending the North’s human rights conditions, in violation of Seoul’s National Security Act. She is said to have told audiences attending her “talk concerts” that North Koreans considered themselves fortunate to be ruled by Kim Jong-un.
By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)
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Articles by Korea Herald
